Witch Hunt
by la-perla's mermaid
Summary: There is more than fluffy bunnies and carrot crops in Bunny burrows , behind it's peaceful surface there's a dark hidden history and violent secrets that taint everyone, even the Hopps clan.
1. Chapter 1

Witch hunt

"Pueblo chico, infierno grande"

An Argentinean proverb.

Author's note: Don't own anything, don't sue.

….

Ashley Ray Weaselhoff ran for her life through the corn crops, the crescent moon barely illuminated the landscape. Her tormentors were closing in, she could hear their hateful voices humming behind her and their words brought even more fear inside her soul.

-"We'll get that bitch and pelt her when we're done"- A sharp female voice hollered

-"I call dibs on her tail"- The younger one said.

-"Shut up idiots! We'll burn her alive, there's no point on using her pelt"- The leader of the lynching party barked.

-"No we're not! We have to make it look like an accident"- The older one says

They are too many, and too fast. Those bunnies look cute and she thinks of how disgusting it is that fluffy little mammals like them are usually considered cuddly, while weasels like her are seemed as unworthy scoundrels. She isn't the one thirsty for blood, she isn't even the predator right now, it is those sweet looking bunnies that are hunting over her like she was their meal. Yet she pains in knowing that if they actually catch her, not only will they kill her, but they will get away with it too. After all who would think such adorable fluffballs would be capable of such cruelty?

She thinks of her lover and the life that awaits them both as soon as they leave this god damn town, that thought alone gives her enough strength to run faster in the hope of making it out of this alive.

"I'm coming for you baby, and when we get outta here all this will look like a bad dream" She thinks as a smile creeps on her muzzle, everything will be alright, she will outrun these jerks and reach her love because love conquers all right?

…. Right?

….

Nick and Judy sat in a bench over the Savannah central station, Chief Bogo had given them the week off after their last case had gone awry, it was a hostage situation that ended with a crazed elephant dead and several traumatized citizens. If it weren't for the duo's quick thinking things would have gotten a lot worse.

Judy had taken the opportunity to give a long due visit to her family at the burrows, at first she thought to bring Nick along. But while her parents had been changing their views around foxes, she didn't dare bring her friend to her home until she could make sure he would be treated with the respect he deserved.

The police officer was very careful in that particular subject because her partner had always been sensitive about the speciest mindset of the countryside, considering the press conference fiasco she starred almost a year ago she didn't blame him, he always acted like the stereotypes around his species didn't bother him but Judy knew first hand of how deeply he suffered because of that.

Her parents were opening their minds about foxes and their business deal with Gideon Grey was a clear proof of it, but that doesn't mean they would become completely speciesm free in a blink of an eye. It was the city that had taught her actual change takes time, that ingrained beliefs were very hard to get rid of. But slow as it might seem change does happen eventually, so if everything went well on this visit she would make sure to bring him along on her next trip.

-"So what are you gonna do in your vacations slick?"- She asked in her usually cheerful way.

-"Well my ass has a very important date with my couch, they've been together for a while now but lately my job as been keeping them apart, if things go as planned my Pawflix account will pay them a visit too"- The red fox answered casually sashaying his tail as to make a point.

Her lovely purple eyes saw him with a little pity and her soft paw reached his. The fox could not understand what was wrong with that rabbit, why did they have to be so emotional? One moment she was beaming with energy and the next she was eyeing him with so much heartfelt sympathy he wondered what he said to cause that reaction.

-"You'll be alone the whole week?"- She said with that ultra cute expression she got when her ears were droopy, the one she uses to melt every heart on sight.

Nick rolled her eyes –"Judy why is it so hard to understand some mammals actually like spending time alone? Not everyone is a cuddle machine made of rainbows and fluff you know?"-

She was about to respond when she got a call from her sister

-"Hey Dude! You're coming home right?"- The other doe on the line asked in forced cheerfulness.

-"Dude?"- Nick said puzzled from behind his partner.

-"It's a nickname I had when I was little"- she said giving an annoyed glance at her sister, her ears were erect once more but they twitched in frustration.

-"We used to call her Jude the Dude, she was such a tomboy there was a rumor in the town that she had actually been born a buck who liked to wear pink"- The other doe answered smugly from the device. –"Hey is that the fox you keep babbling about?"- She said eyeing the vulpine snickering behind her sister.

Nick gave the doe on the screen a casual wave; he would have introduced himself if he weren't laughing his tail off –"Jude the dude? That one's priceless, wait until Clawhouser finds out!"-

The only way Judy could manage her embarrassment was to punch him in the shoulder, hard.

-"What is it that you want Addie?"- The doe said not hiding her mirth, of all her brothers and sisters Adaline was the most emotionally distant from her, it's not that they disliked each other is just that they were too different. While Judy was the oddball career-driven outcast, Adaline was the picture-perfect pretty girl that everyone loved.

-"I actually wanted to talk to you about something when you got here, it's important"- The doe said dropping her fake smile and giving her a serious glare.

-"Sure I haven't boarded yet but I'll be there by noon. See ya"- Judy answered all too eager to finish the call before more embarrassing secrets from her childhood were spilled out.

Nick stopped laughing, the pain in his arm soured his mood a little bit. He had made a living out of his ability to read other mammals and he could tell the doe on the phone seemed genuinely upset -"What do you think it's the problem? She sounded kinda miserable"-

Rolling her eyes Judy told him –"Knowing her, she probably ran out of dresses to wear or nobody has been courting her for more than fifteen minutes"- Judy grumbled, if there was something serious going on her mother would have been calling her instead of her drama queen of a sister.

Nick smirked at the subtle hint of annoyance in her voice, could it be jealousy? If that were the case he was already salivating at the ammunition that would give him over her the next time they bantered -"So she's the girly type. Unlike you, "Jude the dude"-

Pulling her droopy ears over her face she groaned –"You are never gonna let that go, won't you?"-

-"No. No I won't" – Nick said with his smug smile, unable to help himself from ruffling the fur at the top of her head, she looked so adorable when frustrated.

Judy sighed and tried to explain her point of view –"Adaline is not just girly, she's pretty vane too. To be honest I can't blame her for it, if you are the most beautiful doe in the try burrows area that is bound to get to your head sooner or later"-

Nick was shocked -"Wait your sister is the most beautiful bunny in the whole area? Can I see a picture of her?"-from the glimpse he saw of her through the screen he hadn't noticed anything special about the other doe, aside from the stereotypical cuteness.

She flipped through her phone for several minutes until she found one of Adaline, and then showed it to him.

The fox scoffed, for such a pretentious title he expected that bunny to have rainbow eyes or perfect curves or something, instead all he saw was the plainest doe he had ever laid eyes on. -She's just like you but brown!"- He said exasperated, even her hazel eyes looked average; at least Judy's were of a deep violet, something quite rare in the mammal kingdom.

-"It's not brown Nick it's golden, especially in the sunlight"- She chuckled

-"So? All fur shines in the sun, mine by example is of a dashing copper"- He said petulant while placing a paw over his chest, then booped her nose with one gentle claw –"And yours is like silver, but no one makes a big deal about it. What's the fuss about her anyway?"-

Judy shook her head, as a predator he couldn't possibly comprehend the beauty standards of a species so different from his own. Maybe she could explain him sometime, even if that would cause her great embarrassment. –"It's a bunny thing Nick, you wouldn't understand"-

The fox merely shrugged casually while staring at the approaching train –"Whatever Carrots, but if you ask me, I think you're way prettier than her"-

The doe gave him a perplexed stare, he had been literally the first mammal to ever say that. The strangest part is that he actually said it like he believed it, there was no sarcasm involved, he said it like it was the most obvious and natural fact. The situation was so alien to her all she could say was a shy –"Bye Nick, I'll see you next week"-

-"Sure carrots, we'll talk over the phone though"- The fox said puzzled at her numb demeanor, damn emotional bunnies, what was up with her now? And more important, since when did he care so much about every flicker of emotion in that cute little face of hers? "You're her friend Nick, you're supposed to care" the voice of his long dead mother sang in his skull, he had blocked out that part of his memory for decades now, but ever since he started opening up to that cursed sweet little bunny he could swear he heard her more often than ever.

….

A kerfuffle of bunnies flooded Judy as soon as she put a paw on the Bunnyburrow station, she loved living in the city but this was her home, and it always will be.

A huge dinner was made in her honor, and her mom made her favorite cake for desert, it was an orange and carrot cobbler that smelled like heaven and joy. At the sight of so many friendly faces and open displays of affection she felt like an idiot for not visiting sooner, it's just that the fast pace of the city and her demanding job have leached most of her time and energy, after more than a year ever since she left she never had time for more than a weekend long visit.

She wondered why she had craved so hard her entire childhood to leave such a lovely place in the first time.

The lunch was long and big so with a full belly she went to her old room for a quick nap, as soon as she closed her eyes she heard a soft tapping on her door, dragging her paws she grumpily opened it and found Adaline's worried face as soon as she opened it.

-"Hey Judy"- The pretty doe told her sadly

-"Hey Addie"- She said nonplussed, only then remembering they were supposed to have a talk as soon as she got home. Maybe it was better to get their conversation now and be done with it as soon as possible, because all she really wanted was to return to her nap –"What is it?"-

-"I really need to talk to you, it is very important"- The glistening of unshed tears in her hazel eyes told Judy there was a lot of drama coming her way.

-"Well I'm all ears"- She said bracing herself for whatever trouble she was going to get dragged into.

Glancing around suspiciously her sister responded –"Not here, our brothers and sisters might hear us, meet me at the Sherwood Forest in ten minutes"-

"Well so much for my nap" the doe thought groaning, she had like a hundred and fifty sisters, why was she the one that had to handle an issue regarding that drama queen? –"Addie can't it wait till later?"- The tired officer pleaded

-"its important Judy, please we can't afford to lose more time"- Adaline said drooping her ears and twitching her nose, the adorable expression worked for bunnies as well because the city cop felt guilty for disregarding the feelings of her own sibling.

The cruelties she had been exposed to while working in Zootopia made most of the rifts and struggles of their countryside family seem paltry in comparison, but she realized that while small in the grand scheme of things, their problems mattered just as much as the crime victims in the city she swore to protect.

-"All right Addie, I'll meet you there in ten"- Judy told her wondering exactly what had she gotten herself into.

The Sherwood Forest was a small copse of trees right at the edge of the Hopps property, it was named by the first colonizers in honor of the most famous forest located in Animalia, their motherland. Originally much larger and fertile than its Animalian counterpart in the seventeen century, it has been reduced to a few trees surrounding a nearby creek, for centuries the large oaks and pines were chopped down in order to make room for crops.

Judy walked into its dark shade, eyeing the soft meadows that surround it; a wave of nostalgia hit her like a brick. This place had been her favorite playground when she was little; it was the perfect place to hide from her overbearing family and loud siblings. Speaking of which, one of them was eagerly awaiting for her next to an old oak.

Crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her head, Judy lifted an eyebrow signaling her sibling to start talking.

The brown furred bunny bowed her head while holding herself –"I fell in love sis"- she lamented.

A bunny falling in love is as rare as a drop of water in the ocean, but since this is the most coveted doe in the entire area that was big news. Hundreds of bucks were constantly fighting for the right to court her, Judy felt sorry for the poor sap her vane sister had chosen, for that guy would be fending off aggressive rejected suitors for several months until they tied the knot.

-"Okay, I'm glad for you"- She said honestly, vane or not Adaline deserved to be loved and happy just like anyone else. –"So who's the lucky buck?"-

\- "Ashley Ray Weaselhoff, she works…. Uh… worked in the library"- The doe stuttered and her voice broke.

-"You're kidding right? Is this a joke or something?"- Judy knew who that girl was; she was the sister of one of Gideon's posse members when they were little. While Jim Weaselhoff was still a well known jerk, Ashley Ray had always seemed to live an honest life. The news of her beautiful sister dating a female weasel was pretty hard to process though.

The solemn way Addie shook her head made clear it was not a joke; her sister was not only gay but interspecies as well, with a predator of all beings. Wow, that was a lot to digest.

If Addie finding a suitor would cause chaos, that suitor being a female weasel would bring a debacle the size this little town had never experienced, the gossip alone would be uncontrollable. But Zootopia taught her not to judge other mammal's decisions, and that species is not something that should matter, especially in the issues of the heart. She even found funny that the picture perfect Addie would be the first one to break dating stereotypes and boundaries, she was relieved to not be the only oddball in her conservative family.

In Zootopia you can be anything, even a gay inter, but why should Bunnyburrow be any different?

-"Well, you know what? I'm glad that you found the one, if that's who you want then nothing should stop you. Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Do you want me to help you tell mom and dad?"- She could almost see the stroke her father would have when he found out. But who knows, maybe they are not as conservative as they look and maybe they can be open minded enough to let their daughter be happy, even when Judy herself was a bit weird out at the news.

-"I wanted to talk to you because you are a detective, and my girlfriend was found hanged from this very own tree this morning"- Her face was a mask of grief, but she didn't cry, the supposed drama queen wasn't as frail as everyone thought her to be.

Looking up at the branch above them Judy saw the scars a rope had caused on the rugged surface

-"What happened?"- She asked softly holding the brown furred doe, offering as much comfort as she could.

Feeling accepted by a family member for the first time since she fell in love with Ashley Ray, Adaline felt the dam of her suppressed emotions break and she cried her eyes out, tears spilling over Judy's flannel shirt –"They said it was a suicide but they didn't even bother to investigate! That's impossible she was happy! WE were happy! We were planning to leave this town and move to Zootopia, her cousin has a vegetable stand in there and we were going to elope and get married, and we wouldn't come back until they accepted us for who we are"- With every word her voice grew more rushed and sharper until only pained wailings came out from her muzzle.

-"Why are you the first one to tell me that someone died right behind our property?"- Judy growled outraged.

Between sobs Addie responded –"Mom didn't want you to know she made all of us promise not to tell you, we know what happened in the city with that hostage situation and she wanted you to relax while you were here"-

All the overwhelming information she just received aside, her police training told her most suicide victims choose familiar locations to perform the act, the fact that she went all the way up here was suspicious already. Looking up at the tall branch she wondered if it was even possible for a weasel to hang herself by her own without any help from someone else.

-"Are you sure the sheriff's investigation is pointing to a suicide?"- Judy asked while still cradling her sister in her arms.

-"He closed the case already"- Adaline's voice was raspy from all the crying.

Now THAT was a red flag, all suicides no matter how obvious are considered accidents or murders until proven otherwise; it is not uncommon for murderers to stage a suicide to cover their tracks. If the corpse was found this morning having it ruled as a suicide by that very afternoon means no one made a proper investigation, a half day to close an investigation means there wasn't even time for an autopsy.

While the guilt of being both interspecies and gay in such a conservative town might have caused the weasel to kill herself, Judy could list by the hundreds the mammals that might want her dead, from bigoted prays or predators to scorned suitors for Adaline's hand.

And then Judith Laverne Hopps remembered why she had always been so eager to leave this town and move to Zootopia when she was younger. Bunnyburrow might look like a quaint paradise from the outside, and technically it IS a lovely place to live. But the small town mentality is overly rigid, in here you either fit in or you are shunned out, there is no place for free thinkers and eccentrics in this country town.

She couldn't do anything to soothe her sister's grief, all she could do was bow to her that she would get to the bottom of this, even if she died trying.


	2. Chapter 2

Judy didn't waste any time after taking her sister's statement, she left Adaline at her home to try to recover and then went to the sheriff's office.

Since the weasel would not have an appropriate investigation Judy would make sure she got one. Her organized mind quickly made a three step plan: step one review the crime scene, analyzing the oak tree where her sister confessed her love for the victim didn't yield many results, so to achieve more clues she would have to analyze the pictures in her case file. Step two get somewhat of an autopsy report, and step three interrogate her family and friends.

It might seem strange for an outsider, but it was be easier for Judy to become a cop in Zootopia than in the Burrows. The position of Sheriff in such a small peaceful town is basically a steady paycheck for doing nothing other than flaunting some authority over the townsfolk, so the job always ends up in the paws or hooves of the most influential citizens in the area, a farmer bunny would never even be considered for taking that important place.

That means the sheriffs are more versed in petty politics and gossip than in actual criminal investigation.

Still she had to give the local authorities the benefit of the doubt so she asked to speak to the local Sheriff, she thought it was a good sign that the large friendly pig was quick to grant her a meeting

Deputy Hamton was a large pig in his late forties and like most habitants of Bunnyburrow he had a friendly disposition -"Oh yes that little weasel, poor soul, it is a damn shame she chose the Sherwood Forest to kill herself. My, that is only a few steps away from your property; it's a miracle your mom found her before your little ones stumbled into that awful sight."- For someone who said was concerned for the death of Ashley Ray he sure seemed to keep his contended smile quite easily.

-"Sir, are you sure it was a suicide? Did she have a mental history of depression or something?"- Judy asked with actual concern.

-"Miss Hopps you know as well as I do that weasels are never right in the head, who knows what could have been wrong with her?"- The careless expression on the pig was grating the doe's nerves, the ZPD handles ten times more suicides than him and they still keep a professional tone when addressing the late mammals, he acted like it was no big deal.

-"What did her family say?"- The officer pried a little further hoping to reach the pig's motivations

-"They said she was sneaking out of her job and her home at night, probably after some guy, my bet is that the fella let her hanging and she well…"- He made the motion of tilting his head and stuck his tongue, while his right hoof stretched above him like he were pulling an invisible noose, then laughed at his own morbid joke. Judy felt her stomach twist at his callousness

The doe knew better than to accuse Hamton of negligence so she chose to interrogate him from a different angle

-"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm worried about my family. What if she didn't commit suicide? What if there's a murderer roaming around right behind our property?"- She would get more information if she didn't let him now of her true suspicions. Her ears drooped and she played the part of the dumb scared bunny to perfection, Nick would be so proud. –"Would you mind if I take a look at the file? It's just so I can ease my mind a little bit"-

-"Of course I mind Miss Hopps, you'll have to trust my words that you and your family are not in any danger. Don't worry that little head of yours young lady, you're safe in here, this is not Zootopia were predators are running around shooting and killing left and right! We are peaceful folk, there hasn't been an actual murder in the burrows for decades now"- Hamton patted her paw reassuringly

" _If there were you wouldn't have caught them anyway"_ \- Judy thought bitterly but kept her smile light as she said goodbye to the pig. During the interview she had pondered how many "suicides" might have been swept under the rug, she was also sure that there might be a better chance to solve this case if she could see the evidence first paw. So she formed a plan, whatever trace of an investigation there was on this case was locked in the drawers from the office, she hoped they were as incompetent guarding the place as they were during their own criminal investigations.

While she had barged into secluded buildings before, like in the nighthowler case, she felt some trepidation in breaking and entering an actual law enforcement office. This was much different, in this case she would be breaking the law so it was extremely important that nobody found out what she did. It's a good thing she knew an expert on the subject of committing small crimes and getting away with it.

A quick scroll on her contact list and she found what she was looking for.

-"Hey Carrots! Do you miss me already?"- Nick's smug smile was reflected on the screen of her cellphone

-"Nick is that a cheeto in your fur?"- She said noticing the orange chip dangling from his whiskers. They had been apart for less than a day and he was already acting like a slob.

-"Thanks! I was looking for that"- He said snatching the chip and eating it with gusto, mostly just to mess with his picky partner.

-"You are so gross when you're on your own Nick"- She laughed

-"That's what vacations are supposed to be for, so I don't have to put up with a persistent annoying fuzzball cleaning me up. Yep I'm a dirty fox, what are you gonna do about it?"- He wiggled his eyebrows in an almost flirty fashion.

Rolling her eyes at his untamed scruffiness she asked him –"Say slick, if you wanted to… I don't know, retrieve something from an office without anyone ever finding out, how would you do it?"-

-"What kind of office?"- There was dread inching into his voice

-"A sheriff's one?"- She said sheepish while playing with one of her droopy ears.

-"I'm afraid to ask carrots, what have you gotten yourself into?"- He could already feel his own blood pressure spiking, if he ever got a heart attack before he turned forty he knew who to blame for it.

-"Oh nothing Nick, I just want to check up something about a case for my sister and the sheriff isn't too helpful about it, so I'll take the file, browse it real quick and then put it back where it was."- She chirped innocently but not able to hide the hint of mischief in her eyes.

-"A case?! Hasn't anyone taught you what a vacation is? And why are you gonna barge in an actual police headquarter?"- Nick was kissing goodbye his hard earned relaxation.

-"It's something personal, and I have to do this for my family"- she gave him her determined cop glare.

-"Should I grab the first train to your Podunk? It looks like you're about to get into trouble again and I might have to make sure you don't get killed"- He snarled exasperated.

-"Nah I'm fine, it's really no big thing"- She was downplaying this whole situation but she really didn't want to bother Nick on his vacations

-"I guess you have some pictures of the place in question? I need them to scan possible security points"- He said groaning defeated, so much for a careless afternoon.

Three hours later the sun was setting on the horizon and Judy was looking at the evidence file. Nick had given her several pointers to avoid detection but the most important weapon for her stealth was a homemade pumpkin pie from her mother that she gifted the officers, which kept all three so called law enforcers glued to the break room table and far from the records utterly distracted.

Ashley Ray's file was almost as empty as the one she found on Otterton's disappearance, it contained just a few pictures of the weasel hanging from the oak tree, the only thing that called her attention was a scribbled footnote below one of the pictures, it read:

 **They don't call it "The hanging tree" for nothing**

…

Judy had to go back home to check on her sister and not arouse suspicion on what she was up to, the familiar sight of hundreds of bunnies merrily going on their daily routine didn't put her at ease. She pondered that if Adaline had managed to hide such a big secret from her family then maybe her cute brothers and sisters might have other issues they want hidden as well.

As all members of the Hopps clan were getting ready for dinner Judy thought about asking about that hanging tree to her grandpa, after all he knew everything about this town. She found him dozing off on the porch, a light snore the only indication that he was still alive, he was otherwise unmoving.

-"I never heard of the hanging tree Rudy"- He said after the third time that she asked him about it, she gave up on correcting him on her name by now.

-"It's just that oak from the forest behind the crops"- Judy showed the old rabbit a picture of the tree in question that she took from the evidence file, it was taken after they removed the dead weasel from it. Something in the image brought a spark of recognition in Otto Hopp's eyes, upon seeing it a flood of repressed memories came to his dementia addled mind, thoughts and ideas he had long ago blocked for he knew he might be judged for it.

He scoffed at the image –"That's the lynching tree! My poppa and his friends used to lynch and hang predators in there. He told me about it, back then it was pretty common to get rid of their kind when they tried to claim our land. He said many bunnies had fun when they got rid of those pests, but when he saw a hanging for himself he didn't like it, he said he hated the way those jerks twisted and screamed on the noose. It was an ugly time to be alive, our kind had to work their tails out to make a small living out of the farm, we couldn't lose that to the next pelt who liked to flaunt their fangs to chase us out.

Those predators were violent, angry and bigger than us. But our ancestors were more in numbers, so we bunnies used to chase them out, corner them and trample them to death. When they no longer put up a fight the preys left them hanging, so the next pelts would know what to expect. Old timers from my day used to say it wasn't easy, but it had to be done, our family owes this land to those heroes. It is the sole reason we have soil to cultivate, don't forget that Rudy, lest a sneaky predator ever wants to trick you out of your land"-

Judy would NOT forget any of what she just heard, the state her family had lived on for generations had been acquired through murder and hatred –"And you agreed to all this? Grandpa I'm afraid to ask but… have you ever killed a predator?"-

-"Nah of course not, by the time I was born our farm was established so there were no greedy predators to get rid of, they caught the message"- Otto Hopps' expression went triumphant for a second, but then he at least had the decency to look embarrassed –"Poppa was never too happy about the lynching, but if it weren't for them this land would belong to cats, or wolves or even worse! These fields could have belonged to foxes! I'll be damn if I ever let those monsters put a paw on our land Rudy, I know the reason they're red is because the devil made them with the brimstone from his hooves"- The venom at the end of his speech almost made Judy wretch in disgust, she was glad she didn't bring Nick to meet her family.

Looking around she saw the horrified expressions of her siblings, they ears drooped and their nose twitched, they had heard their granddad's horrible rant as well. Needless to say, when all members of the Hopps clan settled on the large tables for dinner the ambience was cold and awkward.

Adaline sat petrified on her place, pushing the food around her plate, not even the upcoming chaos could make her distant eyes snap out of their haze.

-"Why didn't you tell us about all of this?"- Brian, a buck from the oldest litter asked Bonnie

-"We kind of did, we always told you that my grandfather gained this land and had to fight off predators."- Behind her casual behavior Bonnie couldn't hide how embarrassed she felt. Stu sat besides her placing a paw over hers to show support, but kept quiet.

-"That's how you call it? Fight off? Because it sounds more like lynching and murder"- Martha, a doe in her thirties from the fourth litter asked outraged.

-"Oh shut it all of you. You heard grandpa if it wasn't for our ancestors this farm would belong to predators and we would be either scavenging for food or sitting broiled on their plates! They did what they had to do and we owe our entire lifestyle to them"- Chad, another buck from the first litter snapped at his sister.

And that, is how a flame war explodes. Nick called Judy that night to see if she had made it out of her foray into illegal trespassing, and even when she had hidden in her room far from the main hall loud angry words like "pred fornicator" and "fascist psycho" could still be easily heard throughout the burrow.

-"Is everything all right in there?"- He asked as he could easily hear angry curses and broken dishes.

-"Yeah, just a little family drama. You know us bunnies we're emotional"- She told him with a nervous chuckle forcing a fake smile on her face –"Look I had a very long day, so I guess I'll head out to bed and I'll talk to you tomorrow"- She hung up on her partner before he could even respond, the less she interacted with him the smaller the chance that he would know what was going on. She would be mortified if Nick ever found out about what was happening in her home, sheesh and she thought the press conference had been bad, if he ever knew the horrible past of her family he wouldn't ever talk to her again.

The embarrassed doe was also sure that if the cops in the precinct ever heard about any of this the mainly predator force would probably kick her out.

But now wasn't the time to dwell in the horrors of her own family history, she had some more private property trespassing to do.

If the file said nothing, then maybe the autopsy might shed some light on the issue, if you can call an autopsy to just sending images of the corpse to an examiner. For that she was grateful that Seth Thanatos, the M E at the first district owed her big time after he forgot to send tissue samples to the lab for one case a few months ago, luckily Judy was friends with the receptionist at the lab and convinced her to alter the records so it would look like he delivered them on time, the officer did that not only because she liked the hyena but also because his mistake might delay an important investigation.

Tomorrow the weasel would be buried, that means her body would be stored in the funerary. Sneaking out from her home in the middle of the night to interact with a corpse wasn't something the bunny cop was eager to do, but she knew fighting crime wouldn't be pretty, sometimes it was a gory process. At 2 am the funerary was deserted, the soon to be embalmed corpse rested in one of the freezers meant for that purpose, Judy's camera phone was connected to the grumpy hyena's back in Zootopia.

-"Look Hopps I can't certify any of this, especially since I won't be allowed near the body. What kind of trouble are you into? Does Wilde know what you're doing in there?"- The medic was glad to pay her back he just wished it didn't involve breaking so many laws and protocols.

-"It's no biggie you worry too much, and no, he knows nothing and I want to keep it that way"- She told him with a threatening glare, then moved the camera on her phone around the dead body, paying close attention to the gashes on her throat where the rope had cut.

-"She has several scars all over, her legs and arms seem broken. I see some signs of swelling so that means they were pre mortem, the wounds on her throat on the other paw have little to no inflammation on the tissues, they look either peri or post mortem"- the hyena mused

-"Do you think those might be indication of struggle?"- Judy whispered, even when she was certain she was alone the doe couldn't help being worried about getting caught.

-"Not necessarily. Even suicidal mammals thrash around when choked or they convulse by the lack of oxygen, she could have hit any object nearby like a bookshelf or something."- He had seen these kinds of wounds before, a few years ago a large concert for a metal band had a pyrotechnic malfunction and had to be cancelled, the crowd rioted and a few unlucky mammals were trampled by the ensuing mob.

-"There were no bookshelves around she was hang from a big tree, I'll send you the picture of the crime scene"-

After he looked at it the hyena had to agree –"You're right Hopps, this doesn't look good. Assuming she found a way to hang herself from such a tall place nothing explains the many injuries she sustained, she looks like she had been stepped on by several mammals"-

-"Thanks so much doc, you've been a great help. We're even"- She grumbled as she picked up a few strands of light colored short fur, they were obviously not Ashley's, Judy didn't need to be a CSI technician to know they belonged to a rabbit. –"One more thing, would you mind if I send you some samples? I have fur that might belong to the suspect"-

-"Sure Hopps, but please be careful. If you end up hurt and Bogo finds out I was involved in whatever trouble you're up to, he'll turn my hide into a coat for the winter"- The sole image of the water buffalo was enough to give Seth shivers.

-"I'll be fine doc, don't worry I have this completely under my control. This will be done in a jiffy"- She lied, Judy was way over her head on this one and she knew it. Sure she knew that the murderers were multiple and probably bunnies, since it would take several of them to overpower a weasel, the modus operandi was awfully similar to her grandfather's story.

So the suspects were bunnies who might have a grievance against Ashley Ray, who was a predator. And a Lesbian. And Interspecies. Aaaand in a secret relationship with the most coveted doe on the area.

-"Yeah THAT narrows it down"- The cop muttered frustrated, she stole a glance at the torn body beside her –"I'll solve your murder Ashley, you have my word."-

The doe made it to her home at four am, right when most of the clan was waking up and having breakfast, another day of hard work ahead of them. Since Judy was technically on vacation she could get a few more hours of sleep but chose to help on the farm instead, she knew that as soon as she fell asleep nightmares would haunt her.


	3. Chapter 3

-"Hey Judy!"- She heard her father calling out to her, rising up from her favourite meadow in the edges of the Hopps' farm she groggily got on her feet. After more than twenty four hours without sleep and some grueling farm work the young doe had finally found a quiet place where she could nap and recover some strength. Stu's friendly face was a welcoming sight as he handed her a tall glass of fresh lemonade –"You didn't come here to work your tail off kit, you're supposed to be resting. Why don't you let me and your brothers finish here while you go inside and sleep on your own bed?"- He told her not hiding the concern on his deep hazel eyes.

-"Thanks dad, but actually working on the farm helped me clear my head"- She responded with a dry smirk. The police officer couldn't help the trepidation she felt when looking at the burrow she grew in, even when her eyes weren't as privileged as Nick's it wasn't hard for her to see her siblings exchanging distrustful glances at each other in the distance. –"Besides things have gotten a little awkward on the house lately, I don't really feel like going in just now"- There was after all a simmering "civil war" between the Hopps kits who were okay with the farm's dark past, and the ones who were abhorred at it.

With a tired sigh Stu finally made his opinion about the whole debacle –"Look Jude things are not as black and white as you might want them to. Sure good old Otto is a full blown speciest by today standards but you should try to see his perspective, back in his days hating predators was the norm and it was believed to be the right thing to do."-

-"That still doesn't make it right dad. How could he stand back and let other mammals get hurt?"-

His usually warm friendly face turned somber and distant for a moment –"It was about survival sweetie, he had no choice"-

-"Oh, because the big bad predators would attack him at night and eat him while he sleeps? Dad the stone ages ended millennia ago!"- She didn't like snapping at her father since she usually held him with great respect, but her anger at the injustices plaguing her family had her on edge.

-"He feared the other prey Jude, not just the predators"- He told her in a dead serious tone, and the angry snarl coloring his voice almost made him sound like he had been possessed by and angry spirit –"Back in the expansion days not hating the preds meant you were on their side, that meant the whole town would be against you. We bunnies are a social species we need to be in a community to survive, if the town thought you were an outsider you could end up in big trouble"-

-"How big?"- She asked suspicious as her ears drooped behind her back

Her father's face fell even more as he turned and looked at the distance right behind them, somehow she could tell he was looking at the general direction of the hanging tree. –"Have I ever told you about Abigail Leaps? She was a doe that lived on this land before your great grandfather bought it, legend says she practiced witchcraft on this very soil, doing unspeakable acts with the devil himself. They said he came up to her disguised as a red fox and stole her heart with black magic"-

She had heard the story; her father had told most of his kits about it every Halloween. Though this time her mind didn't conjure the warm memories of telling scary stories by the campfire with her family while roasting marshmallows, this time she saw Abigail walk quietly into the fields Judy grew up in, a doe dead for more than a century was standing right in front of her, clear as the light of day. The doe was standing next to a slender tod, his eyes almost as green as Nick's and what they were doing was far from an unspeakable act, they were hugging and kissing. The story her father was telling her was a well known folklore, but her eyes told the truth and what she was seeing wasn't a witch corrupted bunny performing satanic rituals with a fox shaped devil, she only saw two mammals of different species deeply in love.

Yet her father continued his story, and knowing it by heart she knew their joy wouldn't last long.

-"Her witchcraft was so powerful no plants could ever grow on the entire tri-burrows area, the drought her powers caused was starving the settlers to death and they were desperate to find a solution. So after a city wide hunt they searched for signs of black magic and finally found that Abigail was responsible for all of this. They knew that if they wanted rain to pour and crops to grow again she had to be stopped, so they incarcerated and put her to trial"-

Judy then saw the couple being chased by an angry mob of bunnies, sheep and pigs. The tod was the first to fall, quickly subdued by the larger number of prey; they wasted no time in setting him on fire while his screams of agony echoed through the whole field. More than a hundred years later Judy swore they could still be heard.

-"She quickly confessed all her crimes as soon as the judge and the priest confronted her. Some say it was proved she was a witch when they tied her and threw her in the river but didn't drown, instead she showed up three days later walking like a zombie at the edges of the lake. Tired of her shenanigans they hanged her and this time, they made sure she stayed dead"-

Stu looked at his daughter with pain and sympathy, the purple eyed doe was petrified at the all too real image of a young bunny dressed in pilgrim clothing hanging from the very same tree Ashley Ray had been found.

-"Abigail was only nineteen when she was trialed, technically an adult by that time's standards but she was much younger than you."- To her horror, Judy saw her father's eyes turn from a warm hazel into a dull grayish black, the sparkle in them faded immediately. –"She was a rebel and a free thinker just like you, but Bunnyburrow doesn't tolerate mammals like that. Don't you see why I always wanted you to follow the norm? It's the only way to keep you safe!"- Stuart's voice was morphing more and more into something unnatural and daunting, she was sure now that the creature in front of her could not be her father –"If you don't follow the rules, if you don't act like you're supposed to, they'll come for you as well!"- That last sentence was shouted in a grave roaring voice befitting more of a cursed lion that a bunny buck.

With a gasp Judy finally opened her eyes, her tiny heart was beating at a thousand miles per hour, looking around all she saw was the empty meadow where she had laid down for a quick nap not too long ago. Dammit! she knew she'll be having nightmares as soon as she fell asleep.

Resigned to give up hope of a decent rest until the case was solved she thought it might be better to just focus on it, grumbling under her breath she went out to find her sister.

…

That guy was the tenth… two hundred and fifty three more to go, an overwhelmed ZPD officer grumbled as she crossed yet another name from a long paper filled with them. Judy groaned as she left the Hoppstader's home, police procedure dictated that she had to interrogate all possible suspects of Ashley Rae's murder, so she asked Adaline to give her a list of all her suitors.

The brown doe's original list had over seven hundred bucks in it, but at least she had the forethought to shorten it to the most insistent ones, which still left way too many for her to interrogate in one short week. And she was still not covering those who might not be interested in her sister but enraged that she's a lesbian. Even now, of the ten bucks she interviewed only four had solid alibis, the rest went to sleep early and among a large family of bunnies it would be way too easy to escape unnoticed, her previous foray into the morgue was proof of that.

She grimaced at the notion that fifty of Adaline's admirers were her first and second cousins. It brought chills on Judy's spine how the ugly stereotypes of "country hicks" could be realistic sometimes; after all in such an isolated place with closed communities that weren't exactly welcoming to outsiders the risk of some inbreeding is much higher than in the larger cities. Hell even her parents were cousins, that's why both of them had the last name Hopps, her grandpa on her father's side was actually half brother to Otto. Again she thought of Nick and the thousand embarrassing secrets she would have to keep hidden from him, she pulled her ears over her face at the thought of her partner finding out that she was technically a product of inbreeding and that a weasel had been lynched right next to her burrow way into the first century.

Forcing herself to think about the case, as to abandon that anxiety filled train of thought, she stared once again at the piece of paper crowded with almost two hundred bucks.

She needed a way to narrow the amount of suspects, and that's when the uncomfortable truth about incest gave her a great idea. The Hopps clan had close and distant relatives all over the burrows, at the very least if there isn't even a single match she'll be able to cross the fifty related bunnies of the list. Taking an evidence bag from her pocket she ripped several hairs from her head and placed them in it. Then she scrolled on her contact list and found Thanathos' name among her recent conversations.

{Hey Seth, I'm sending you a sample of my own DNA so you could check if one of the hairs might be a relative of mine}

A few minutes later her phone chirped in response

{Wow Hopps, do you really think the killers might be from your family? And if I find a positive match, do you really want to move forward on this?"}

Judy bit her bottom lip, she had to admit that was actually a thoughtful question. Even if one of the attackers were of a distant blood relation bunny clans stick together, it would cause a lot of turmoil if she were to blame another Hopps of murder. But when in doubt, do what's right, and the right thing to do is give justice to her sister and the Weaselhoff family.

Her phone chirped again, it was probably Seth asking her what she would do, picking it up in a fast swipe she responded without reading the message he sent.

{Yes Seth, if the murderers are from my family I'll go after them just like anyone else. Did you get the other samples?}

{Carrots what the hell are you talking about?}

Mortified, Judy noticed it was Nick's phone number on the ID, she had texted him instead of Seth.

{Nick! Oh gosh I thought you were someone else!} After more than 24 hours without proper sleep she was getting clumsy and didn't bother to look at the caller ID before texting back, her brain was already looking for a plausible excuse for the weird text she sent him without worrying her partner.

He couldn't know the truth! What was she supposed to say? _"Oh it's nothing Nick I'm just investigating a case on my own bypassing all proper protocols, from stealing evidence to making de ME work hidden from the ZPD, which now that I think about it, could get the poor doctor fired if the chief ever finds out."_

{Why the hell are you talking about murder? Is that why you broke in the sheriff's station? Carrots tell me you're not in trouble again, you better not be investigating a murder or something}

She could feel her partner's exasperation from the other side of the line. " _Yeah, an innocent weasel was lynched by a lot of bigoted bunnies because she had the nerve to be with my sister, remember all those civil rights we're supposed to uphold in Zootopia? Well the folks in here didn't get the memo and are still acting like the twentieth century never happened."_ Oh crap, even the voices in her head were getting snarky. In the meantime she typed:

{Of course not! Everything's fine I was just being a little over dramatic don't worry}

{Wanna talk about it?}

 _"Not in a million years Slick, you'll never find out about this if I can help it"_ She was woken from her musings when her phone begun to ring, Nick was calling her after she failed to respond, he was probably worried about her and in a fit of panic Judy hung up. Only a few seconds went by until he was calling again, the ringtone was assaulting her sensitive ears overwhelming her. Maybe she could use the same lying technique on him than she used on her parents when she wanted them not to find out things weren't going well in her life, but the screen showed her reflection and she saw the disheveled state of her fur and the bags under her eyes, he would be onto her right away. After more panicking and some careful consideration the safest route was probably another text.

{Not right now, I'm tired and look like crap, it's not the best moment for muzzle time} that wasn't a lie after all.

{I've seen you after being thrown and shaken on the dirt with pieces of grass stuck on your fur, can't be worse than that} He was probably talking about the time they fell on the exhibit during the nighthowler case, yet they were also very close friends so he had actually seen her at her worst several times already, yeah it didn't make sense for her to act vain around him.

{Sorry Nick I can't talk right now, I have a few family issues that are private all right? But I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as I come back. I have to go and my battery is running low so see ya later! ;) } God bless emogy's, they make lying so much easier.

Just to be safe she sent a quick message to Seth (this time she made sure to get the number right) and turned off the device.

…..

-"The number you are trying to reach is unavailable at the moment"- The polite voice told Nick that his partner had turned off her phone.

He should take her word and stay away from whatever chaos her and her bumpkin family had gotten into, one emotional rabbit was more than he could tolerate sometimes so going into a place crowded with them made the fur on his back stand up. Getting his well earned rest away from the fluffy trouble magnet was the logical thing to do, especially when she was asking him just that. But that would mean he'll have to stay bored in his apartment while thinking worse case scenarios for his favorite bunny on his head over and over again, and who the fuck was this Seth guy anyway? Was he the one who dragged her into trouble?

The fox re-read the texts messages his partner sent, the first one said something about samples and murder, so she was sending samples to a guy named Seth regarding a murder investigation.

Back in his hustler days he was acquainted with all the mammals in the streets of Zootopia, he basically knew everyone, but when it came with the ZPD he was still somewhat of a rookie. Then a sly smile split his face, compared to Clawhauser he was a recluse, that cheetah knew every single detail of every mammal who ever set paw on the precinct, that spotted gossip machine probably knew who was this mysterious Seth his carrots was talking with.

Calling the precinct put him in line with the receptionist almost immediately

-"ZPD first precinct, how can I help you?"- The familiar friendly voice answered.

-"Hi Benji, how are you?"- Nick said laying out his charm.

-"I'm great Nick it's good to hear you. How's the vacation going?"-

-"Just great, look I was talking to Hopps a few minutes ago and she asked me a favor, she told me to send some samples to this guy called Seth regarding a crime investigation but for the life of me I have no clue of what she meant by that. You have no idea how bad the phone signal is back at her parent's home, I could barely hear her and now her phone must have lost all signal because I can't call her back. Do you know who that guy might be?"-

-"Uhh isn't she supposed to be on vacation too? I'm pretty sure all her cases are solved and her paperwork was finished, I sent her reports to the chief myself yesterday."- Clawhouser said confused, Nick cursed himself for overestimating him, that cat was actually very sharp.

-"Yeah that's the thing buddy, I'm worried she might have missed a little detail or something about her case, maybe she made a tiny mistake and now she wants to fix it before it becomes a big issue. So I would be reaaaly grateful if you keep this under the radar"- Nick pleaded doing a great job in hiding his nerves. After all he was implying his partner might have screwed up over a case which was obviously not true, but for all the gossip Benjamin sprawled regarding personal indiscretions, he could be extremely tight lipped when it came to protect his colleague's job. He knew this time the cheetah would be discreet.

-"Of course she would"- Clawhauser groaned, annoyed –"I probably know what she was talking about now, it's that scatterbrained medical examiner Dr Thanathos! I swear that guy is extremely thorough on his autopsies but he's a complete doofus when it comes to crime scene samples, he probably lost or mislabeled some of them and Hopps is trying to cover up for his mistakes again, she's done that before you know?"- Before the cheetah kept blabbering Nick politely ended the conversation.

-"Yeah that sounds like Hopps, well I'll go take those samples to the good old doc and be done with it, it's been great talking to you spots I'll see you next week, and I'll be bringing a large box of chocolate donuts with your name on it"-

-"Can't wait!"- The receptionist squealed in delight.

….

Two hours later a grumpy red fox was sitting on a passenger train into Bunnyburrow, he didn't know what angered him the most, that his partner somehow chose to pursue a dangerous investigation on her own or that she searched the help of an ME she barely knew instead of the partner she had worked with for almost a year.

The fidgety hyena was quick to tell him everything he knew which wasn't that much, a weasel was killed by bunnies that may or not be related to Judy, that's all he had to work with.

Maybe what was really bothering Nick was his inability to stay away from trouble when his Carrots was around, sure the first time she had blackmailed him into her police adventures but ever since then, he had been following her around even when they were heading right into disaster.

This time she had told him to stay away, that there was a lot of drama in her home, knowing what he knew now, "drama" was underselling it. Crap she was probably jeopardizing her career with her shenanigans and by following her he would be an accomplice should they get caught, something quite likely given how reckless that bun could be.

Yet here he is, a moth into a flame heading towards a Podunk in the middle of nowhere, doing mental gymnastics to avoid thinking on how worried he was about Judy and how much he wanted to help her.

.-.-.-..-.

 **Author's note: It was actually Menser the one who figured out that Otto Hopps is Bonnie's father so she and Stu have the same last name, I used the idea with the author's permission. Both of us explained this by incest because it has more dramatic potential but I think there are many scenarios that don't involve those two being related, I for example would like to think that in bunny society it is the husband who takes the last name of his wife. Also if two cousins have kids with each other there isn't an increased risk of disease or malformation, it was actually a common practice in noble or royal families a few centuries ago.**


End file.
